Ming Dynasty: I, Zhu Yunwen, started by resurrecting my grandmother.

Everyone agreed that Zhao Ling'er's words made sense.

Zhu Yunwen reiterated his stance: "Everything I have done is not entirely for the sake of the court; I am thinking of the people of the world, hoping to avert a disaster and alleviate their suffering."

Moreover, my grandmother also said that she did not want Zhu Di and Zhu Yunwen to fight.

I will do my best to fulfill her wishes.

Zhao Ling'er gently stroked her temples: "Everyone can understand what you're saying."

Your grandmother was a very kind-hearted person.

She certainly didn't want her son and grandson to fight.

However, in my opinion, this is probably just wishful thinking on his part.

Zhu Yunwen was determined to drastically reduce the power of the princes; most of Zhu Di's brothers' princely fiefdoms had already been eliminated.

If he doesn't resist, the outcome will be the same as Zhu Su's.

Therefore, he was determined to fight the imperial court to the very end, even if it meant using up all his remaining strength.

The conflict between the two of them is irreconcilable; it has reached the point of irreconcilable differences.

Zhu Yunwen's eyes dimmed after hearing this.

From his perspective, Zhu Di was his uncle.

Zhu Yunwen was his elder brother, and he didn't want his uncle and elder brother to fight.

However, he has now been deposed, and this time he has only come out to lead troops temporarily. After returning, he will probably still be waiting for the Dali Temple prison.

Tie Xuan looked at Zhu Yunwen: "If it doesn't work out, then you shouldn't go back for now."

If you return to the capital, you will again be persecuted by Qi Tai, Huang Zicheng, and others.

Chang Yuchun also looked worried. He said to Zhu Yunwen, "Why don't you just set up camp in Suzhou and recruit soldiers? As long as our army expands to 1 men, we can conquer the world."

We currently have over 2000 people.

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er's eyes lit up: "That's right, Grandfather is absolutely right, why should we risk our lives for him!"

Yunhu, don't be so stubborn. Think about how much you've done for the court recently, and how the court has treated you.

Putting everything else aside, let's take your last trip to Beiping as an example. You finally managed to get Xie Gui and Zhang Xin all settled in,

Timur led an army of 100,000 to attack Beiping, but we repelled the Northern Yuan army.

They also investigated the guards of the Prince of Yan's residence.

Logically speaking, your contribution is quite significant.

However, after you returned to the court, Zhu Yunwen imprisoned you and planned to execute you.

You finally escaped from the Dali Temple's prison, but Qi Tai is up to no good. He and Zhu Yunwen have conspired to deal with you together, and they only gave us a little over a thousand men to attack Chen Zuyi and his son Chen Shiliang, who command tens of thousands of pirates.

One thousand against tens of thousands? Isn't that a joke?

Isn't that just asking us to commit suicide?

This time, you went to the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River and successfully stopped Zhu Gaochi's army from advancing south.

Would things have gone so smoothly if you hadn't arrived in time?

Can Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying defeat Zhu Gaosui and Zhang Yu?

That's almost impossible.

You were captured by Zhu Gaosui and his men and taken to Beiping, where you were imprisoned. If Wang Yuemin hadn't arrived in time, you would probably still be in prison.

This time, we repelled the pirates and drove Zhu Di and his men away. Logically speaking, your contribution is quite significant, and the court should reward you. Even restoring your official position and title would not be excessive.

But think about it, will Zhu Yunwen do that after you go back?

Based on his consistent character, he will still kill you; the greater your achievements, the more he will fear you.

Even if we don't kill you, imprisoning you in the Dali Temple's jail will leave you in utter darkness.

Why don't we do as my grandfather said and station the army in Suzhou? Then we can recruit soldiers and horses locally. We still have some money. With this money, we can increase our army size considerably.

Didn't my grandfather say that with ten thousand cavalrymen, we can conquer the world?

Back in the day, wasn't Modu Chanyu of the Xiongnu just like that?

Didn't he start with just ten thousand cavalrymen?

They traversed the grasslands and eventually established the Xiongnu Empire!

Zhu Yuntong sighed deeply: "I know you are saying all this for my own good, and I am very grateful!"

However, some things cannot be explained in just a few words.

The people of our Great Ming Dynasty have already endured much suffering.

The ravages inflicted by the Northern Yuan and the oppression by pirates fill me with anguish whenever I think of them.

Now, the imperial court is at odds with Zhu Yunwen and Zhu Di over the issue of reducing the power of the princes, and it seems that a major battle is inevitable.

If we were to divide ourselves into separate factions, wouldn't the world descend into chaos?

Wouldn't those people be plunged into misery again?

This is not what I wanted to see.

Tie Xuan also agreed with what Zhu Yunwen said.

Tie Xuan praised, "King Wu, you are truly a man of great vision, with the world in your heart."

If the Emperor and Zhu Di could think like you, then they wouldn't fight.

I read Confucian classics and believe in loyalty to the emperor.

Regardless of the circumstances, Zhu Yunwen was the successor designated by the late emperor, and Zhu Di's rebellion was wrong.

Therefore, I firmly stand on the side of the imperial court.

The imperial court had its reasons for reducing the power of the regional military governors. After all, the Rebellion of the Seven States and the Rebellion of the Eight Princes had occurred in history, and as an emperor, he had to consider this.

Therefore, in my view, the correct course of action for Zhu Di was to resist the Northern Yuan and remain loyal to the court, rather than harboring disloyal intentions.

Finally, Zhao Ling'er suggested, "I think it's like this: Yun Tong, you and your maternal grandfather should go back to Suzhou to stay, while I will return to the court to sound out their opinion."

If the imperial court recognizes your merits and restores your official position and title, then you should return.

On the contrary, if the imperial court still finds fault with you and punishes you.

Then you should recruit soldiers and gradually expand your army in Suzhou. Once we are strong and well-equipped, no one will dare to do anything to us.

Zhu Yunwen did not want to do this, but under the persuasion of everyone, he had no choice but to do so.

morning.

The capital city.

Military training ground.

Zhu Yunwen is inspecting the troops.

Minister of War Qi Tai assembled 100,000 troops from various places and drilled them day and night on the military training ground.

After Zhu Yunwen arrived, the Ming soldiers were all in high spirits and full of fighting spirit, like tigers descending from the mountain and dragons emerging from the water.

The cavalry led the way, followed by the infantry, their helmets and armor gleaming in the sunlight.

Today, Zhu Yunwen is also fully armored, looking somewhat like a general.

Despite the hot weather, Zhu Yunwen persevered.

Because he also understood a simple truth: to be with the soldiers, to share their joys and sorrows, and to become one with them.

The saying goes, "An army is raised for a thousand days, but used for only one."

At this moment, Qi Tai jogged up to him.

"May I ask Your Majesty, what instructions do you have for this military parade?"

Zhu Yunwen was fairly satisfied and said, "You've worked hard!"

Qi Tai laughed and said, "This humble subject is not tired; Your Majesty is the one who is tired!"

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly: "I know that you have done a lot of work for this military parade."

How is the battle going at the front?

Qi Tai then reported the battle situation at the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River and in Jinan to Zhu Yunwen.

Overall, with Zhu Yunwen's help, the battle situation is currently acceptable.

Zhu Di did not gain any advantage.

The pirates have been driven back and fled to the sea.

At this moment, a soldier brought over a basin of water. Zhu Yunwen washed his hands and wiped the sweat from his face.

Therefore, Zhu Yunwen did play a certain role.

Upon hearing this, Qi Tai pondered for a moment and said, "Your Majesty, you must not be so sentimental as to act like a woman."

We learned that when Zhu Yunwen arrived in Suzhou to fight the pirates, he recruited 1000 soldiers without the court's permission. Ostensibly, he was fighting the pirates, but in reality, he was secretly accumulating strength. This is not a good sign.

The imperial court has explicit regulations that anyone who recruits soldiers without authorization is guilty of a capital offense!

"Your Majesty, once he returns, he should be executed!"

Zhu Yunwen sat down under an umbrella.

"When I sent him to fight the pirates, I actually had a two-birds-with-one-stone purpose."

That means letting Zhu Yunwen fight the pirates. No matter which side wins, it won't harm our court.

Therefore, I only gave him 1500 men at first.

This is already the least amount you could ever ask for.

However, I didn't expect that he would actually repel the pirates.

Qi Tai further said, "Your Majesty, Zhu Yunwen was able to repel the pirates because he privately mobilized the troops in Jinan."

This is a capital offense!

Don't say he was a deposed prince; even if he really was a prince, he had no right to mobilize local troops.

If every prince acted like him, arbitrarily mobilizing local armies, wouldn't the world descend into chaos?

This is no small matter.

Zhu Yunwen thought Qi Tai's words made sense.

Because it is a terrible thing.

In other words, if Zhu Yunwen could mobilize troops in Jinan, he could also mobilize troops from other places.

He is using these troops to fight pirates now, and he may also use them to fight against the imperial court in the future.

Zhu Yunwen picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said, "A few days ago, Zhu Yunwen arrived at the Yanjin Ferry on the Yellow River..."

Because he was in Zhu Gaosui's army, Geng Bingwen and Guo Ying's surprise attack was able to succeed.

In addition, Zhu Di led his army to Jinan.

He fought alongside Tie Xuan against Zhu Di, preventing Zhu Di from capturing Jinan. Isn't that a merit?

Qi Tai straightened his clothes and said, "Your Majesty, what you said makes some sense, but merit is merit and demerit is demerit, and merit and demerit cannot offset each other."

Zhu Yunwen was escorted to Beiping by Zhu Gaosui; it is unknown what secret agreement they reached.

Zhu Gaochi actually released him again.

Isn't that strange?

Although Zhu Yunwen and Tie Xuan joined forces to repel Zhu Di, he was still disobeying the imperial edict.

He should have consulted the court beforehand and obtained permission before he could join forces with Tie Xuan to fight against Zhu Di.

The imperial court assigned him the task of fighting pirates, but not of fighting Zhu Di.

In the future, if every prince or general were like him, doing whatever he wanted, what kind of order would that be?

Therefore, in my humble opinion, Zhu Yunwen's contributions were too great and he must be executed.

Zhu Yunwen listened quietly with his eyes narrowed. It should be said that Qi Tai's analysis made some sense.

As a prince or general, the most important and outstanding quality is loyalty to the court and obedience to the court, rather than acting on one's own and doing whatever one wants.

Just then, a soldier came to report to Zhu Yunwen, "Zhao Ling'er has returned! She requests an audience with Your Majesty!"

Zhu Yunwen was quite surprised.

He and Qi Tai exchanged a glance, then he said, "Let's call her over!"

"Yes, sir!" the soldier replied and turned to leave.

Before long, Zhao Ling'er arrived before Zhu Yunwen and knelt on the ground: "Zhao Ling'er greets Your Majesty."

"Oh, it's Miss Zhao," Zhu Yunwen said, looking down at her. "Get up quickly!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Zhao Ling'er stood up, glanced at Qi Tai but ignored him, and then turned her gaze to the 100,000-strong army on the drill field.

Zhu Yunwen looked Zhao Ling'er up and down, noticing that she looked travel-worn and covered in dust, so he asked, "Where did you come from?"

Zhao Ling'er bowed again: "Your Majesty, I come from the front lines of the fight against the pirates."

"Oh, you went to fight pirates this time too?"

Zhao Ling'er saw that there were 100,000 troops on the training ground, but Zhu Yunwen told her that there were no troops. Therefore, he only gave Zhu Yunwen a little over 1000 men. This made Zhao Ling'er very angry, but she could not show it because of face.

At this moment, Zhu Yunwen asked her if she had gone to the front lines to fight the pirates.

Zhao Ling'er answered loudly, "Exactly!"

Zhu Yunwen asked with a smile, "Can you fight pirates too?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ling'er knew that he was underestimating her: "Although I am weak and helpless, I feel that having one more person means having one more strength."

I know some medicine; I can help them treat the wounded and transport supplies there.

Zhu Yunwen nodded slightly: "You truly are a woman who is just as capable as any man."

At this moment, Zhao Ling'er pointed to the 10 troops on the drill ground and asked, "Your Majesty, didn't you say you didn't have an army? What are these?"

These troops must number at least 10.

"This—." Zhu Yunwen choked for a moment. He turned his gaze to Qi Tai, wondering how he was going to explain this to him.

"Ahem, ahem," Qi Tai coughed twice, "Miss Zhao, let me add some clarification on this matter."

That's right. At that time, due to the urgency of the situation, there were indeed no troops in the capital when Zhu Yunwen set off.

These troops only arrived in the capital from various places in the last few days.

"Oh, I see. Lord Qi, I heard from Yunhu that you promised him that you would send reinforcements later if he took more than 1000 men with him. Where are the reinforcements you sent?" Zhao Ling'er asked, her eyes burning with curiosity.

"Uh." Qi Tai was speechless when asked.

Because he didn't expect this little girl to have such a sharp tongue.

He wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Miss Zhao, I did say that, but the capital has its own difficulties. I'm sure you know that Zhu Gaochi sent troops across the Yellow River crossing under the pretext of suppressing pirates."

"Our forces are far from sufficient to defend the capital."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ning'er felt an urge to slap him across the face.

She sneered and said, "Lord Qi, I think your reasons are a bit far-fetched, aren't they?"

Even if you can't mobilize your troops, what impact will it have if you have 100,000 troops and you only mobilize 2,000 or 3,000?

"Or perhaps you simply don't want to send reinforcements!"

Zhao Ning'er appeared to be talking to Qi Tai, but in reality, she was speaking to Zhu Yunwen.